Does the KonoSuba franchise really need a gacha game?

KonoSuba: Fantastic Days is the popular light novel cum anime franchise’s mobile gacha game, which is already available for download.

As a franchise, KonoSuba helped to revitalise the stale state of isekai. At a time when anime fans were getting tired from seeing the same, generic isekai shows being released again and again, KonoSuba was like a breath of fresh air. There was something magical in the chemistry amongst the cast that made all the jokes feel so organic (hai, Kazuma desu).

With its third anime season on the way, fans all over, including myself, have to make do with whatever KonoSuba content we can Drain Touch on. Enter KonoSuba: Fantastic Days.

I feel a bit torn regarding KonoSuba: Fantastic Days. As a KonoSuba fan. It’s great news for me as I get to relive the experience of the anime and investigate if Aqua is wearing underwear. Yet at the same time, it feels shallow in comparison to the rest of the series. It just doesn’t feel as magical.

At its core, Fantastic Days feels too similar to other gacha games like Princess Connect. Just like the isekai genre which is rather stale and brimming with clones, Fantastic Days feels like it’s trapped in the same generic gacha game, just painted on with KonoSuba colours. Take away the KonoSuba element, and you are left with a horribly generic gacha RPG auto-battler.

The gameplay is something that I have experienced a million times. Megumin knocking herself out after using Explosion in the anime is fun, but not so much in the game. I wished that a lot more was added to the game, instead of your typical grinding loop.

Don’t get me wrong—Fantastic Days looks amazing in comparison to a lot of gacha RPGs with auto-battle systems. The live 2D versions of the characters are gorgeous and worth simping for. The sad thing is that most successful gacha games need a memorable cast of characters that make them worth pulling for. Outside of Kazuma’s party and a few fan favourites, a large number of characters feel left out. Beyond their stats and abilities, there is not really a driving force to pull for some of these characters.

From the light novel to the anime, KonoSuba‘s charm has always been there. Even the visual novel added so much new content and had great replayability with different routes for the main characters. A gacha game simply does not provide the same humour or engagement as the rest of the franchise, which was what made it so good in the first place.

I am not saying KonoSuba: Fantastic Days is a bad game. I just feel that it does not advance the franchise as well as its other mediums. As a KonoSuba fan, I wished that the game will provide a more unique and standout experience, following in the footsteps of the light novel which made it so popular in the first place. It doesn’t need to make me laugh all the time—I just want a more meaningful and memorable video game that is solid enough to stand on its own two feet, even without the KonoSuba branding.

Download

KonoSuba: Fantastic Days

Release Date: 2020-02-27

Android, iOS

A Spectacular Anime RPG brimming with fantasy, laughter, and EXPLOSIONS! You have been summoned, brave traveler, to a world threatened by the Devil King's army in the first KonoSuba mobile game ever to be released globally. The journey may be long and perilous, but do not fear! You won't be going empty-handed...joining your party will be all the KonoSuba characters you know and love, along with some fresh new faces.